Darius Rucker, ‘This’ – Song Spotlight

Darius Rucker expresses gratitude for 'This' -- a song that pretty much covers everything that's ever happened to him, good or bad. The track is featured on his sophomore Country solo album, 'Charleston, SC 1966.'

We were going to try to make this the first article about a Rucker song ever that didn't mention his time as lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, but the simple fact is that this gentle, upbeat song could easily have come from his former band. In fact, the chorus is quite similar to their 1995 hit 'Only Want to Be With You.'

Which is not to say that Rucker has crassly jumped onto the country bandwagon, but instead that with a few simple tweaks - steel guitar, fiddles - the modern country genre seems to fit right in his musical comfort zone. The values and beliefs he expresses in the song - such as being thankful for the simple pleasures in life, grateful even for mistakes that led him to this point - are also a perfect fit:

"For every stoplight I didn't make / Every chance I did or I didn't take / All the nights I've went to far / All the girls that broke my heart / All the doors that I never closed / All the things I knew but I didn't know / Thank God for all I missed / Cause it led me here to this."

You can catch Rucker all over your television this week, performing on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,' 'CMA Country Christmas' and 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' He'll also be performing at select concert dates starting early in 2011. Visit his website for all the information, and be sure to check out 'This' from Darius Rucker below.